Filming scenes in NYC

Every day in New York City there are between ten and fifty working film sites. Two areas near where I work (Gramercy Park) have been in more films than Brad Pitt and there are universal groans from the locals when the paper "No Parking this Thursday- NY Film blah blah blah" Signs start showing up on Mondays. What this means is they get to park their bigass black trucks where you need to park AND, around the corner where they are actually going to shoot, there will be some two or three techie assistants (worst job in the film industry) acting as border guards.

Please, they say, attitudinally, we are shooting a scene. Could you cross over and walk down the other side???


Yeah, yeah, yeah, anything for art.

I have stood and waited for a shot to commence for over an hour. Tom Hanks came down the stairs too quickly, too slowly, too something or other, then (identical it seemed to me as the too slow one) perfect.

It must be tough trying to shoot fiction in the midst of reality especially since New Yorkers do two things really well -ignore everything around them while zenmasterlike being aware of everything around them.

There was a guy who used to attack movie sites. No, really. He used to wait until a shot was rolling and then start screaming and blowing a whistle. I haven't read anything about him lately. Maybe they decided not to ever take his parking place again.

Joe(But if I cross over I'll be late) Nation

I bumped into Tom and Nicole once when they were shooting Far and Away in Dublin. I had to deliver flowers to an address in an alley-way that they were filming in and although no-one was allowed onto the set, because I actually had an order for delivery to a flat right in the area, I was let through. It felt a bit odd to walk past them as they were having a bit of a break but they smiled and said hello.

Ive seen a couple. Usually you just see those signs that say "No parking..." that Joe mentioned, and you never actually see any real action. Last november though, they were filming some movie right on the block on the side of the building where I work. I got to see Al Pacino close up. I don't get all goofy over **** like that usually, but it was AL PACINO! Totally awesome. The whole building was buzzing about it all day. They actually filmed part of it right outside the main entrance too. It was great. It was him and that Matthew Macconahey (spelling?) dude.

Pacino is the man!

I saw Shirley McClain shooting perhaps Sweet Charity one day. There was very little hubbub about it.

Funny you should mention that scene in Midnight Cowboy.Schlesinger, being British was fascinated by shooting raw NY street footage. The producer kept trying to get him to edit out that stuff but he demurred. He said he was looking for the real stuff.

I watched some filming of The Excorcist in Georgetown DC but it was sooo boring I went off to my favorite pub.

Heeven-your do lucky.I love Far and Away!!That must have been so cool, they are a great couple despite their seperation.What a great story to tell people!

material girl - I am not a big fan of Tom but I will say that Nicole is stunning close-up. Strange but I thought more of him when he was married to her and now they are not I like him less.

I canimagine Nicole being stunning,with all her close ups in things like Moulin Rouge Id imagine her skin is flawless.

I wasnt a big fan of Toms until Interview with a Vampire, that didnt last long, my opinion of him has also gone downwards since he hooked up with Penelope.They didnt even stay together!!!